Man scammed £8,600 for croissant

A man in Taiwan has paid £8,600 for a croissant that he has not yet received.

The scam started when the man, whose last name is Chiu, ended up on a website that claimed it was selling "French bread so delicious that it will make you cry".

Chiu paid an initial 99 Taiwan dollars (£2.10 / $3.40) for the croissant, but was asked to repeat the transaction after being told he had made a mistake with the first payment, the Apple Daily newspaper in Taiwan reports.

Further phone calls from a "bank manager" and a supposed employee from the "Monetary Supervision Commission" convinced him to make further payments, with Chiu believing that he could be charged with money laundering.

Chiu lost a total of 12 million Taiwan dollars (£8,600 / $14,000) over seven separate transactions.

Phone scams have become a problem in Taiwan. An anti-scam hotline has received a reported 3.7 million calls since 2004, according to national police.